Your rights when you buy something

Easy English 2016

Your rights when you buy something

Australian Consumer Law

Easy English 2016

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Your rights when you

buy something

This booklet is about your rights when you

buy something.

Rights are the things that everyone should be

able to

• get

• have

• do.

This booklet has some hard words.

The first time we write a hard word it is blue.

We write what the hard word means.

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What do you buy?

Products are things you buy and use every day.

For example

• food

• anything in your house

• products to help with your disability.

Services are things you pay another person to

do for you. For example

• a hairdresser to cut your hair

• a cleaner to clean your house

• a support worker to help you at home

• services to help with your disability.

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What is a seller?

A seller is a person who sells products and

services to you.

A seller works for a business. You pay the seller

for the products and services.

There are lots of ways to buy products and

services from a seller. For example, you might

buy something

• from a shop

• on the internet

• on the phone.

You might also buy from a person who comes to

your front door. This person is called a door-to-

door seller.

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Before you buy something

Before you buy something you should

• tell the seller what you want or need

• ask the seller questions about what they

are selling

• make sure you understand what they

tell you

• take your time

• read the contract. A contract is a piece of

paper which tells you what you and the seller

must do. A contract can also be called a

service agreement.

You can ask someone you trust to help you.

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You should get a receipt every time you buy a

product or service. A receipt is a piece of paper

that says you paid for the product or service.

You should keep your receipts in a safe place.

If the seller does not give you a receipt,

you should ask for one.

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Sometimes things go wrong

The seller may not tell the truth about the

product. For example, the seller said they would

send the product to you for free.

But the seller makes you pay for sending the

product to you.

The seller may bully you. This means they may

push you to buy something you do

not want.

The product you buy might be broken.

For example, you buy a laptop and the screen

does not work.

You might get something different to what

you want. For example, you buy brown shoes on

the internet. But the seller sends you

blue shoes.

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You might get bad service. For example, you pay

for a cleaner to clean your whole house.

The cleaner does not clean the bathroom.

If something goes wrong you might feel

• cheated

• angry

• upset.

You do not have to feel this way.

There are laws to protect you if this happens.

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The law when you

buy something

The Australian Consumer Law protects you

if something goes wrong. The law says

• you can say you are not happy with the

product or service

• if the problem is small, you can get help to

fix it

• if the problem is big, you can get your

money back or a new product.

The law says the seller must help you. This law

is called a consumer guarantee.

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What to do if something

is wrong

Contact the business. Tell them

• something is wrong with the product

or service

• you want the seller to fix the problem.

The business might ask you for your receipt.

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Warranty

Sometimes when you buy something you will

get a warranty. A warranty is a promise from

the seller to fix a problem.

The warranty might only last 1 year.

Some sellers try to sell you a longer warranty.

This is called an extended warranty. This can

cost more money.

You can say no to an extended warranty.

Remember your rights.

Sometimes you can get a problem fixed for free.

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Door-to-door sellers

A seller may come to your front door to try and

sell you something.

You do not have to let them in.

You can say no.

You can say you will think about it.

You can ask them to leave.

Keep your personal information safe.

Do not give a door to door seller

• your driver’s licence

• your credit card number

• your bank account numbers.

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You can put a sign on your door.

The sign can say

Sales people do not knock. Please leave.

You can get a copy of a sign from the consumer

agency in your state. These are listed at the end

of this booklet.

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If you want to buy from the

door-to-door seller

The law says

• you do not have to pay money for 10

working days

• the seller has to give you the contract

in writing

• you have 10 working days to change your

mind. This is called a cooling-off period.

You can ask the seller to give you more

information in writing.

You can ask someone you trust to help you.

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Get help to buy products and

services for your disability

The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS)

can help you buy some products and services

with your NDIS money.

There are rules about what you can buy with

your NDIS money.

You can contact the NDIS if you need help with

what you can buy with your NDIS money.

1800 800 110

www.ndis.gov.au

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Who can help?

You can contact the consumer agency in

your state. A consumer agency can help you to

use your consumer rights.

Australian Capital Territory

Access Canberra

13 22 81

www.act.gov.au/accessCBR

New South Wales

NSW Fair Trading

13 32 20

www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au

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Northern Territory

Consumer Affairs

1800 019 319

www.consumeraffairs.nt.gov.au

Queensland

Office of Fair Trading

13 74 68

www.qld.gov.au/fairtrading

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South Australia

Consumer and Business Services

13 18 82

www.cbs.sa.gov.au

Tasmania

Consumer, Building and Occupational Services

1300 654 499

www.cbos.tas.gov.au

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Victoria

Consumer Affairs Victoria

1300 558 181

www.consumer.vic.gov.au

Western Australia

Department of Mines, Industry Regulation

and Safety

1300 304 054

www.consumerprotection.wa.gov.au

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More information

You can find more information about your

consumer rights at

www.accc.gov.au/disabilityresources.

Australian Competition and Consumer

Commission (ACCC)

1300 302 502

www.accc.gov.au

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© Commonwealth of Australia 2016

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The Easy English in this publication has been prepared by Scope (Aust)

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